1. Field
Example embodiments generally relate to an image forming apparatus and a waste toner conveying device, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus for forming a toner image and a waste toner conveying device for conveying waste toner that is installed in the image forming apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Background
Related-art image forming apparatuses, such as copiers, facsimile machines, printers, or multifunction printers having two or more of copying, printing, scanning, facsimile, plotter, and other functions, typically form an image on a recording medium according to image data. Thus, for example, a charger uniformly charges a surface of each of a plurality of photoconductive drums; an optical writer emits a light beam onto the charged surface of the respective photoconductive drums to form an electrostatic latent image on the respective photoconductive drums according to the image data; a development device supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the respective photoconductive drums to render the electrostatic latent image visible as a toner image; the toner images formed on the photoconductive drums are primarily transferred onto an intermediate transfer belt to form a color toner image thereof; the color toner image is secondarily transferred onto a recording medium; finally, a fixing device applies heat and pressure to the recording medium bearing the color toner image to fix the color toner image on the recording medium, thus forming the color toner image on the recording medium.
Such image forming apparatuses may include the plurality of photoconductive drums aligned below the intermediate transfer belt. After the primary transfer of the toner images formed on the plurality of photoconductive drums onto the intermediate transfer belt, a plurality of primary cleaners removes residual toner failed to be transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt and therefore remaining on the photoconductive drums therefrom, respectively. The removed toner is discharged from the primary cleaners and collected into a waste toner container as waste toner. Additionally, after the secondary transfer of the color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt onto the recording medium, a secondary cleaner removes residual toner failed to be transferred onto the recording medium and therefore remaining on the intermediate transfer belt therefrom. The removed toner is discharged from the secondary cleaner and collected into the waste toner container as waste toner.
For example, the waste toner discharged from the primary cleaners is conveyed through a primary conveyor pipe in communication with a primary inlet of the waste toner container that is situated in proximity to the front of the image forming apparatus. Conversely, the waste toner discharged from the secondary cleaner is conveyed through a secondary conveyor pipe in communication with a secondary inlet of the waste toner container that is situated in proximity to the rear of the image forming apparatus. Thus, the waste toner removed from the plurality of photoconductive drums and the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt are collected into the identical waste toner container through the separate conveyor pipes and inlets, respectively.
The primary conveyor pipe that conveys the waste toner discharged from the primary cleaners is situated in proximity to the front of the image forming apparatus to communicate with the primary inlet of the waste toner container that is also situated in proximity to the front of the image forming apparatus. Conversely, the secondary conveyor pipe that conveys the waste toner discharged from the secondary cleaner is situated in proximity to the rear of the image forming apparatus to communicate with the secondary inlet of the waste toner container that is also situated in proximity to the rear of the image forming apparatus.
Accordingly, the front, primary conveyor pipe and the rear, secondary conveyor pipe sandwich the photoconductive drums and the intermediate transfer belt in the front-to-rear direction of the image forming apparatus, upsizing the image forming apparatus in the front-to-rear direction thereof.
Additionally, since the waste toner container has the two inlets, that is, the primary inlet in communication with the primary conveyor pipe and the secondary inlet in communication with the secondary conveyor pipe, two shutters and seals are attached to the two inlets, respectively, increasing manufacturing costs of the waste toner container.